


you might be my everything

by umitsuki



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Blood and Injury, Fluff, Heartwarming, Historical, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Not Much Romance, Prince Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, just cute soonhoon, lots of hugs and hand holding, soonhoon are 10 y/o in part one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umitsuki/pseuds/umitsuki
Summary: young prince soonyoung is ecstatic to learn that a boy his age has arrived at the palace.(jihoon becomes friends with the last person he should’ve and must make the most important decision of his life.)
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> only potentially intense/triggering content is descriptions of blood, otherwise this is a v tame read  
> this is a big chunk of unbeta'd text so expect typos ><
> 
> (title is inspired by A-TEEN lyrics!)

Soonyoung is more excited than he has ever been during the introduction of new royal servants. 

As per usual, a line of various servants dressed in uniform stand at the hall to greet royal family members. While the king and first son are busy, the queen and younger prince are present for the formalities. That very prince, silver-haired and wide-eyed, is unusually jumpy and energetic—for being at an otherwise boring procedure, that is.

“Mother, it’s a kid! I could play with him!” Soonyoung yell-whispers with enthusiasm, looking back and forth between his unimpressed mother and the boy standing in line with the servants.

“Be quiet. And there will be no playing with any of _them,_ ” the woman coldly replies, putting distasteful emphasis on ‘them’. Her son does as she says, shutting himself up, regardless of his inner excitement. It’s a typical thing for him to be told to lower his volume, anyways.

Soonyoung’s eyes glitter at the view of the boy standing close to a housemaid next to him. He looks to be around the prince’s age, with messily cut black hair and a rounder face. But for being a ten year old, he’s incredibly still and proper while he stands in line, barely even paying attention to Soonyoung.

Although he’s well aware of his parents’ disdain for him interacting with the servants, Soonyoung is determined. There are _never_ any kids his age at the palace to play with. He has an older brother, Jeonghan, but he’s a bit too old to play now and is always exhausted from the king pushing so many duties on him. 

There’s no way he’ll let this chance slip by. Whoever the boy is, Soonyoung _will_ learn his name and become friends with him, and they’ll have tons of fun at the palace.

After the new servants are immediately sent to their duties and Soonyoung is forced to take his etiquette lesson, he goes out on a mission to find the boy. There’s free time until the maids will start looking for him to bring him to dinner, which he typically spends exploring the seemingly endless halls and rooms of the massive palace.

With years of experience wandering around the palace, Soonyoung has a basic grasp on the emptier areas that servants rarely travel through. Lots of the ‘fun’ places—the music room, ballroom, theater and more—have been locked up at the king’s command. They used to have all sorts of shows and parties, Soonyoung remembers, but they all abruptly stopped a year or so ago. 

That was also when the king began holing up in his rooms, when the queen stopped smiling, and when dark circles showed up under Jeonghan’s eyes. Soonyoung thinks they should invite the traveling musical troupe again; that was pretty fun. The prince had laughed so hard that he almost peed in his seat.

When Soonyoung is on the quiet, empty side of the palace, it’s either his imagination or a lucky coincidence that he hears soft music playing through the halls.

Soonyoung starts running. It could only be coming from one place on this floor, the one room with instruments (he can’t quite recognize which instrument is playing the melody).

And he’s right—the door to the music room, typically kept locked, is just slightly open, enough for the sweet tunes to slip through. At first, Soonyoung peeks through but he gets impatient from how hard it is to see. He decides on opening the door carefully, holding onto the massive thing as he walks in.

At the infantile age of ten, Soonyoung hasn’t a clue about fate or inevitability. But the second he locks eyes with the servant boy sitting at the grand piano, playing a song with a peaceful expression, the prince feels like he had just _connected_ to him.

The music abruptly stops when Soonyoung walks in. In contrast to the wide-eyed prince, the servant boy appears distraught. He quickly rises from the piano seat and backs away from the instrument, terrified of the royal prince.

“I’m—I’m so sorry, I won’t do it again!” he stammers, lowering his face apologetically. Soonyoung tilts his head curiously and walks near the piano.

“That was pretty. Play it again!”

The boy blinks his eyes rapidly; out of fear, his body takes another step backwards. “P… Play it again?” he squeaks. Soonyoung vigorously nods. “I’m not… in trouble?”

The prince looks at him strangely. “Why would you be?”

He doesn’t have anything to say to that. Slowly, the boy takes his seat again and fixes his hands upon the piano keys. He often takes glances at the prince, wondering what the catch is and when he’s gonna get whisked away by an angry adult. Nothing happens. 

Then maybe the prince is for real…?

With a deep breath, the boy’s fingers press the keys, hesitant at first but gradually smoother as he plays more. It’s the same song he was playing before he got interrupted: a cheerful, bright song with lots of staccatos. Just the type of tune to get Soonyoung’s body moving.

The little prince improvises a dance in the music room, feeling the rhythm of the piano’s melody and jumping on it. Soonyoung’s movements come so naturally that the pianist thinks it must be thanks to dance lessons, when he’s never actually had them before. Most of it is Soonyoung pretending that he’s a dancer on stage and also a magical fairy.

The boy watches in awe at Soonyoung dancing, causing him to lose tempo at some places here and there. Not only is Soonyoung so _good_ at it for having the mindset of simply goofing around, but it’s… really fun to watch. A smile emerges on his face and he plays more melodies he can think of to encourage the prince to dance more.

“You’re so good at that!!” Soonyoung exclaims when the boy finally stops to let the both of them take a break. He runs up to the side of piano, eyes sparkling at the shyly backing away pianist. “Do you wanna be friends?”

The boy blinks, frozen at the sight of Soonyoung holding out his hand.

“Friends…?”

“Yup!” The prince beams. “And friends don’t call me Prince, they just call me Soonyoung! What about you?” 

His catlike eyes dart around the room before returning to the smiley child before him. “I’m Jihoon,” he says softly, reluctant to take the royal prince’s hand in his own. But disobeying the people he serves would be bad, so he shakes his hand weakly. 

“Jihoonie!” Soonyoung calls out, wanting to try out how the name sounds in his mouth. It rolls right off his tongue. He leans over the part of the piano keys, getting on his toes and bouncing up and down. “How’d you open the door? I thought they always locked it.”

“Oh.” Jihoon’s cheeks flush a light pink and he looks down. “I lockpicked it. I thought there’d be a piano here so I kinda…”

Soonyoung nods. “What’s Lockpick?”

Jihoon stares at him quietly. “Never mind.”

Soonyoung assumes it’s not important and quickly moves on. “Jihoonie, you wanna play again tomorrow?”

The boy seems a bit troubled; although he’s not sure if he wants to play often (when he’s supposed to be helping out the other servants with their chores), he shouldn’t be rude to the prince. And it was admittedly pretty fun, what they just did with the music and dance.

“Yeah,” Jihoon says with a nod. “It was fun.”

“Yay!” Soonyoung jumps up and down like an overexcited puppy. “You can undo the lockpicking thing, right? This can be our super secret meeting spot!”

Soonyoung is _so_ energetic. Even in Jihoon’s most excitable moments, he doesn’t have nearly this much energy in him. He always had the impression that this type of people were bothersome to deal with but honestly, Soonyoung’s personality makes him giggle. 

It’s just a bit hard to grasp for Jihoon—the difference between how his mother told him the royal family members are like and how Soonyoung actually presents to him.

“Okay. Let’s meet here again, at the same time.”

“Okay!”

Jihoon’s face gets all red again when Soonyoung beams at him brightly, adorably.

In the near distance, the faint voice of a maid shouting for a Prince Soonyoung alerts the two of them. 

“I need to go!” Soonyoung heads over to the door and peeks his head out for a moment, then turns back to the worried looking Jihoon. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one sees you. You’re in good hands!”

Soonyoung gives him a thumbs up before he sneaks out the room and shouts back at the maid searching for him. Jihoon stands in place, still trying to process the whole interaction with the prince he had. Eventually, he just laughs to himself. To think that his first ‘friend’ is _the_ prince is simply baffling and honestly kind of funny.

“Imagine I’m a noble knight! I have this… Huuuuge sword! And I’m the only person in the world who can swing it!”

Soonyoung runs around the room, pretending to drag a great sword and swing it around at enemies. As he defeats his enemies, Jihoon laughs and plays a dramatic, powerful tune on the piano, completely improvised to match Soonyoung’s movements.

“And then, after I defeat the evil dragon…” He kneels beside the piano and Jihoon, posing with a hand upon his chest. “I save the prince who plays the piano everyday, alone in the forbidden music palace.”

Jihoon smiles shyly. “But I’m not the prince. Soonyoung is.”

The silver-haired boy crosses his arms over his chest with an angry puff of his breath. He tells him, “Being a real prince is boring. I wanna be a hero and battle and save everyone instead!”

“How’s it boring? Don’t you get to have everything you want?”

“I don’t.” Soonyoung pouts at his friend. “No one ever listens to me. All they do is tell me to read my books and study and be quiet.”

“But you live like a king. An almost king!” Jihoon exclaims, finding himself to be genuinely surprised. Don’t princes and princesses live lavishly every day of their lives?

“Father gets to go out whenever he wants but I don’t. Everyone does what he says but I have to follow _soooo_ many rules,” the prince casually says with a shrug. He makes his way onto the piano chair next to Jihoon, fitting just perfectly on the seat made for adults. A bright smile directed at him causes Jihoon to blush faintly. “I wish I was like you. You’re from the city, right? I wanna go there too!”

Glancing at the black and white keys, Jihoon’s mind returns to his memories at the kingdom’s city. “You don’t want to,” he says with a dry laugh, “Living here is good.”

“Why? Is it colder there or something?” the boy innocently asks, blinking his eyes. He reaches for Jihoon’s hand and holds it in his own, catching the other off guard. “Then we can go there together and hold hands like this. That’s what my big brother did for me when we went out to play in the snow!”

Jihoon’s hand gradually grips back. “Yeah…” He grins like a happy cat at Soonyoung. “That would be lots of fun.”

“Right!” 

Soonyoung leans in to give Jihoon a big, hearty hug. Clearly being unaccustomed to the gesture, the servant isn’t sure what to do with his hands. He settles on patting Soonyoung’s back gently, wondering when was the last time he’d ever gotten a hug like this before.

“I think I need to go now,” announces the prince, hopping the chair and landing on two feet. Turning over his shoulder, he waves his hand at the other boy with a smile. “See you later, Jihoonie!”

“Bye-bye.” 

Jihoon’s frown waits until he’s certain the prince isn’t watching anymore.

The days following their first fateful meeting in the music room are filled with more music, more dancing and more giggles. As they spend more time together, Jihoon grows out of his initial shyness and tells Soonyoung some stories of him living in the city. The prince, who’s never gone to the city for anything other than the one royal formality when he was eight, listens and imagines a magical town like in the books.

One day, Soonyoung decides he wants to bring a little gift for Jihoon. Part of the gift are shabby, wooden swords meant for playing that a knight made for him. The other part, he wants to grab from the palace kitchen.

When he enters the kitchen (with the help of a servant passing by holding the door open for him), the two maids inside appear flustered. They walk away from each other briskly, even though the boy definitely saw them chattering quietly. 

Soonyoung makes his way to the counter where finished plates and baskets of food are.

“What’s today’s thing?” he asks, glancing at the younger of the maids and getting on his toes for a better view.

“I’m… sorry, I’m not quite sure…” the maid replies reluctantly, blinking at her older coworker. Not recalling ever seeing her at the kitchen, Soonyoung stares at her curiously. She looks familiar, plus she’s got a cool little scar on her chin. 

“Ah, the prince means today’s pastry.” The other maid goes to the counter and picks up a woven basket stuffed with large muffins. “Today we have pumpkin muffins, Prince Soonyoung.”

Soonyoung takes two muffins from the pile and gives his best smile to the servants as per usual. “Thank you!” he greets in a bright voice, excitedly dashing out of the kitchen. The maids look on at his small figure, the older woman putting a hand on her hip.

“Huh,” she says, turning to the younger lady, “Usually he only takes one.”

“Is that so?” the other murmurs, her gaze lingering on the prince as he disappears in the distance.

Soonyoung makes a beeline to the quiet floor with the music room, which is becoming more of a regular routine for him. He always looks forward to it too, constantly glancing at the clock when he’s stuck having his lessons for the day. 

It has been literal years since Soonyoung has had so much within the palace walls. The last time he can recall anyone remotely his age coming over to the palace was when _everything_ was different. The palace was brighter and busier, having many more people walking around and greeting Soonyoung with happy smiles. Now all the people he sees are quiet, indifferent servants completing their daily tasks. 

It’s good that he has a wild imagination that can take him anywhere, but playing by himself got boring pretty quick. Right now, there’s truly nothing that he treasures more than him and Jihoon’s friendship.

When Soonyoung enters the music room today, Jihoon is standing near the windows and peeking beyond the long curtains—that is, until he hears the pitter-patter of Soonyoung coming in. He quickly pulls the curtains back together.

“Hi, Jihoonie!” The silver-haired boy hands Jihoon one of the muffins as soon as he approaches him, the boy on the receiving end making a puzzled expression.

“Is this for me…?” Jihoon asks curiously, regardless of how obvious it is from Soonyoung’s wide grin.

“Yeah! They always make yummy stuff in the morning so I thought I’d bring you one!” Soonyoung hops up and down like a rabbit, wanting Jihoon to take a bite and see his reaction to its yumminess.

Jihoon gazes at the huge muffin as though it’s some sort of precious gem. He realizes how this must be so normal for Soonyoung, to just be able to grab these for himself. When comparing it to how he and the people around him eat, he feels like he can understand why they’ve all been so angry at the royal palace, how they take everything yummy and keep it for themselves. But Soonyoung—he’s an exception, isn’t he, handing the pastry to Jihoon like it’s nothing?

“Thanks,” says Jihoon, who sincerely means it. He takes a large bite out of the muffin, deciding that it would be best to finish it there and then. He’s not supposed to be eating the food prepared for the royal family, after all. A satisfied sigh subconsciously slips past his cheeks full of muffin crumbs. 

“And I also brought…” Soonyoung, who somehow has already finished eating his muffin (the evidence is the tiny bits of muffin stuck around his mouth) grabs the toy swords he’s had tucked under his arm. He gives one to Jihoon who doesn’t take it just yet. “...these! So we can sword fight for real!!”

Jihoon takes an extra moment to swallow his food before he grabs the sword by its hilt, holding it upwards and gazing at its messy making.

“You wanna sword fight with these?”

“Yup!” 

Soonyoung holds his own and gets into a certain stance with it. He grins and without warning, pounces onto Jihoon with a great swing of his sword. What he doesn’t expect is for Jihoon to not only stop his attack but to unravel his grasp on the sword, causing it to fly out of his hand and onto the floor. He is utterly shocked—not because he lost seconds in, but for a different reason. 

Meanwhile, Jihoon simply looks embarrassed, clearly not having meant to do what he just did. It had happened purely out of reflex. 

“That was—I don’t even— _that was so cool!!_ ” Soonyoung finally manages to yell after stammering in an attempt to organize his thoughts. He runs over to his sword, picking it up and then dashing up to Jihoon, getting a bit too close to the boy’s personal space. “How’d you do that?!”

“Um… I—I don’t know,” Jihoon stutters, his face growing pink once again.

“The old man knight taught me some sword stuff but I’ve never seen that before!” Soonyoung exclaims, which explains most of his shock and admiration for Jihoon’s moves. He continuously inches closer to the other boy, who is in turn backing away meekly. Jihoon doesn’t like being complimented, especially by someone who’s so loud and passionate about everything he says. “Who’s your teacher? A master sword man or something?”

Jihoon shakes his head rather strongly. “Just my mama, she… taught me some basics,” he hesitantly explains. 

This seems to pique Soonyoung’s interest; his eyes sparkle at Jihoon and he purses his lips like a duck’s beak in thought. When he thinks and comes to a certain conclusion, his face lights up.

“Ohh! Is that why she has a cut on her chin?”

“H… Huh?” Jihoon appears appalled, almost scared of the prince. His lips quiver slightly as he tries finding the proper words to say. He swallows his spit anxiously. “You’ve met her before?”

“Kinda. I talked to her in the kitchen and I thought she looked like you!” 

Smiling big, Soonyoung is proud of himself for guessing correctly. Jihoon thought the boy wasn’t the brightest so this comes off as a huge shock—both towards Soonyoung’s deductive skills and the fact that they’ve interacted (though, the latter is more of a worry rather than a shocking reality).

“So she knows sword stuff too?” Soonyoung swings his toy sword around at Jihoon, who blocks each of them as if they’re sparring. “Oh! Is she like a secret warrior lady, undercover as a maid to help protect us? That’d be so cool…”

Jihoon’s hand holding the toy freezes (but with a good amount of strength, Soonyoung notes as he’s unable to force the arm to budge). It takes a while for him to formulate a response, and it comes out as a mere mumble: “Maybe… I don’t know.”

Soonyoung gasps and covers his mouth. “It’s a secret, isn’t it?! Then I shouldn’t talk about it out loud…”

Save for a small forced laugh, Jihoon remains quiet. As the two continue to fight with their swords—Soonyoung adds plenty of sound effects to make it livelier—Jihoon notices that Soonyoung has a lot more brute strength. But his handling of the sword is sloppy, even for the blade being a flimsy toy, and Jihoon could easily gain the upper hand. If he wanted to end their fights quickly and ruin all the prince’s fun, that is.

It’s strange—Jihoon has never had positive memories of sword fighting, whether it be gruesome practice on dummies or sparring with others. As an indoor person who preferred to read and study, he came to dread the physical training forced onto him. 

He’s the polar opposite to Soonyoung, a boy eager to run around and play. He’s met plenty of people like Soonyoung, far too energetic for Jihoon to mentally handle, but the prince makes this sword playing actually kind of fun for once.

“Do kids do this stuff a lot in the city?” Soonyoung inquires, still wanting to hear more about city life. “Oh, oh! Is school fun?”

“I don’t know, Soonyoung. I didn’t go to school,” Jihoon tells him, shaking his head. And he never really wished he went to school with other kids, either. “My mama’s friends taught me stuff at home.”

“Oh.” Soonyoung’s brows droop. “But didn’t you play with kids who live close to you?”

A sigh comes from Jihoon. He stops moving his sword around and so does Soonyoung, quietly watching him.

“I lived in a big house with my mama and a lot of grownups. She didn’t let me go outside to meet other kids because she said it was safer inside, and that I shouldn’t talk to them.” He pauses here to sit at the piano chair. Soonyoung stands near him, swinging the sword around idly as he listens. “So I just stayed in my room most of the time and borrowed books from the grownups to read.”

“Which is why you’re smart!” the prince excitedly adds. “Er, I think you are. You seem smart!”

The compliment succeeds in letting Jihoon loosen up and laugh for a second. “Not really,” he denies, though unable to hide the smile from being called smart. “I just read a lot. I wish I was energetic like Soonyoung. And happy.”

Hearing this, Soonyoung stops moving his arms, standing still and facing Jihoon with a strange expression.

“Jihoonie isn’t happy?”

The tips of the boy’s ear become red. He begins to regret saying that but then again, he feels he has no reason to lie to Soonyoung. “Um…” he mutters, fiddling his fingers around, “I’m not _not_ happy, just… I think some things in my life could be better.”

“So you’re like me!” he exclaims with a wide smile, surprising Jihoon quite a bit.

“What do you mean?”

Personally, Jihoon would never think that he and the royal prince are anything alike, from lifestyle to—now recently discovered—personality.

“Well, I wish Mother and Father would pay attention to me ’cause they don’t anymore,” Soonyoung explains with a nod, imagining his bullet list of items. “And I haven’t been to school and gotten to meet other kids, either! So we’re kinda the same in that way.”

“Huh.” That actually does make a lot of sense to Jihoon. “I guess we are.”

Wanting to hold his hand, Soonyoung reaches his arm out with his usual happy smile. Jihoon accepts his hand, taking it in his own. Their arms sway from left to right in unison.

“Jihoonie, do you think we were meant to be friends?”

Jihoon’s eyebrow rises at Soonyoung’s odd question.

“Like fate?”

“Yeah.” Rather than his happy-go-lucky smile, Soonyoung’s expression is calmer, him evidently being serious with his inquiry. “Like, what if we met for a reason?”

The gaze of Jihoon drifts away from the prince over to the room’s empty space in thought. There are honestly so many things he could say as an answer but none of them reflect his true feelings regarding him and Soonyoung’s growing bond. And at the same time, he thinks about everything Soonyoung doesn’t and shouldn’t know.

“You’re my first ever friend, Soonyoung,” Jihoon says, initially looking serious but the shyness comes out and he blushes faintly. “You mean a lot to me.”

“Me, too, Jihoonie!” Soonyoung beams happily, showing all of his teeth. “Let’s be friends for forever and ever!”

Jihoon smiles back to hide his slowly budding feeling of dread. _Forever and ever._

“Soonyoung, I’m gonna be busy for a few days. There’s lots of chores they want me to do,” he informs his friend, who purses his lips sadly. 

“So… you won’t be able to play?”

Jihoon holds Soonyoung’s hand in both of his palms, looking up to the standing boy with a reassuring gaze. “Just for a little bit. But I’ll tell you when I can again, okay?”

“Okay…! I can wait!” Soonyoung’s eyes become watery and his lips quiver, but it’s clear he’s doing his best to hold back his urge to tell Jihoon not to. “I can even help you if you need me to—”

“No! No, that’s okay!” Jihoon quickly replies, a sense of panic overwhelming him for a brief moment. “Soonyoung is, um, the prince! So if they see you doing my chores they’ll get really mad at both of us.”

“O-Oh, right...”

In request for a hug, Soonyoung holds his arms out and blinks at the boy with watery puppy eyes. Jihoon leans forward and dives into Soonyoung’s arms, the two of them embracing each other and rubbing their backs. Jihoon’s deep, tired sigh gets muffled by Soonyoung’s shoulder, which only feels like a hot breath to the ever so innocent prince.

As the days go by, the king’s agitation and impatience increases exponentially. The atmosphere of the entire palace is strikingly cold and unwelcoming (even more than usual), servants barely greeting Soonyoung as he walks by them. Without his and Jihoon’s playdates at the music room, Soonyoung finds himself extraordinarily bored and alone, like he was before they first met. On top of that, there’s the uncanny sense of unease he gets in the form of a chill down his spine whenever he ventures throughout the building.

At this point, Soonyoung realizes the only people he really interacts with are the couple of servants and caretakers who ensure that he’s eating and bathing everyday. No parents, no Jeonghan, and no Jihoon. It’s only inevitable that he begins to develop a fear of the space he’s always considered his home. Home should be warm and happy but right now, to the young prince, this is no place that he wants to spend his time in. _Nothing_ here is right, he thinks.

On a certain night—almost a week since Soonyoung and Jihoon stopped meeting—the boy is seated at the royal dining table with, surprisingly, his whole family. When he was escorted into the room, at first, he was beyond excited to see that his parents and brother were all present. The last time they had a meal together must’ve been over a month ago.

But it only takes a couple seconds for Soonyoung to stop himself from bursting out in smiles and jumps, and that’s because his joy had been replaced by dread.

The expression on the king’s face is unexplainable. Soonyoung’s eyes are glued on his father’s figure as a maid brings him to his seat besides Jeonghan, who is as quiet as ever and has barely touched his food. 

The king continuously taps his fingertip on the tabletop and grumbles something constantly, clearly displaying his frustration with something. His eyes are droopy and somewhat red from lack of sleep, his overall appearance being quite unkempt. Soonyoung’s mother sits on the opposite side of her sons, sipping a cup of tea with her eyes closed. Soonyoung has the feeling both adults have more wrinkles on their faces than he remembers them having. 

Soonyoung turns to his brother for a moment. The teen shifts his eyes towards the other then slowly looks back to his plate, not offering any words to him. Even Soonyoung can tell Jeonghan is barely able to maintain and compose himself for supper, for the king and queen. The boy decides on eating his food, though he’s extremely hesitant due to the fact that barely anyone is also eating.

The clicking of servants’ footsteps nearby the spacious dining room and some occasional clatter of utensils hitting plates are the sole sounds heard during most of supper. Soonyoung does his best to cut and chew slowly so as to not gather unwanted attention on himself. Even if he has no clue why everyone is so somber, he at least knows better than to disrupt the silence.

A butler of sorts briskly walks in the room while Soonyoung is contemplating whether or not to eat the spinach on his plate and stops next to the king. His torso inclines slightly to reach the man’s ear, whispering something rather lengthy to him. The butler appears nervous to be relaying the information, Soonyoung observes, and likely for a good reason.

At a particular point, the king’s eyes enlarge and he shouts something Soonyoung doesn’t understand, enraged by something he just heard. His arm holding a dinner knife over the plate lifts and slams onto the table, the knife stabbing its wooden material. Soonyoung’s body subconsciously jumps at the sudden loud noise unlike his mother and Jeonghan, who merely sit still and avoid glancing towards the king, clearly knowing something about the source of his anger. 

It’s all too much for a child as young as Soonyoung, unaware of what’s happening to what once was a joyful family. He whimpers softly and sniffs his nose as he feels the tears building up in his eyes, but Jeonghan puts his hand on Soonyoung’s lap and whispers, “Don’t cry. Wait.”

Soonyoung nods at his brother’s words; at the very least, he’s somewhat relieved that Jeonghan is looking out for him. But it takes all of his willpower to contain his tears and the urge to bawl out and jump into Jeonghan’s protective arms. By the time the king has had enough of sitting down at the table and stomps out of the room, it’s almost as if the fog has been lifted. Temporarily.

Soonyoung breaks out into tears and sobs, a couple of hiccups thrown in between his sniffling and wiping of his eyes with his sleeves. Jeonghan takes a deep sigh and puts his hand on his forehead tiredly. The mother gets up and leaves as well, though not before shooting a dirty, cold glare at the boys.

“Shh, shh.” Jeonghan crouches down next to Soonyoung’s chair to be at his eye level. Reaching out his hand, he brushes away some of the boy’s bangs behind his ear. “Soonyoung, look at me.”

Momentarily, Soonyoung stops wiping his wet face and glances at his brother. The dark circles under his eyes are as visible as ever. “Why is Father so angry?” he asks meekly, voice on the verge of breaking.

Jeonghan exhales through his nose. “Don’t worry about it,” he says gently, placing his hand upon his younger brother’s arm. “Remember the pansies in the garden? Purple, blue, and…?”

Each time he hiccups, his shoulders tremble. Soonyoung makes a few attempts to speak, the first ones ending up in stutters because he’s still very shaken up from the king’s outburst.

“Yellow,” Soonyoung finally manages to say. Jeonghan listens and nods. “A—And red. And some orange.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” The older boy offers a smile, the type he’d flash when Soonyoung would proudly show him messy paper crafts of dragons and ships. “Did you count how many there are of each of those?”

Soonyoung shakes his head. Counting the different colors of flowers in the garden was a thing Jeonghan would tell him to do whenever Soonyoung had a tantrum or was upset with something in order to calm him down. One would think an excitable, energetic boy like Soonyoung would need something more than just that, but it’s never failed to work so far. The last time this happened was when Soonyoung tripped and broke a new toy Jeonghan got him. They went to the royal garden together, pointing at and counting the colorful mum bushes.

“Go do that later, okay?” Jeonghan can’t fully hide his fatigue but nonetheless, he puts up a front for his trembling brother. “I can’t go with you but you’re a big boy now. Which means you can go alone, right?”

Soonyoung sniffs loudly. “I—I can do it! My face is just, umm... sweating!”

Jeonghan laughs quietly, patting his head. “I thought so. Don’t stay outside too late, though. Bring something warm to wear.”

“Is Jeonghanie okay?” Soonyoung blinks his watery eyes at the other. “Are the gremlins keeping you awake?”

Not quite expecting the question, Jeonghan freezes briefly until he awkwardly laughs it off, playfully saying, “Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m your brother, you know,” and pinches Soonyoung’s cheek. The two of them exchange smiles and a final hug.

Diligently, after putting on a puffy coat Soonyoung sneaks his way out to the vast royal garden. Despite the darkness of the approaching night, the lamp posts brighten the cobblestone path into the flowerbeds.

Simply being outside—which he isn’t permitted to at this hour but he’s skilled at avoiding the servants’ watchful eyes—and remembering Jeonghan’s reassurances keeps the boy relaxed, at least a little bit. 

The pansies are in the same place he remembers—between the sections of roses and mums. The arrangement of the colors are all the same too, though there’s one difference in that a lot of the pansies are wrinkly, brown instead of vivid colors. Maybe the servants haven’t been feeding them enough, Soonyoung thinks.

The palace’s greenhouse is not too far from the flowerbeds where the prince stands. The dome-shaped structure made of all glass has always mystified him. He wondered what the point of having glass walls was if the plants couldn’t have any privacy.

A figure walking out of the greenhouse catches Soonyoung’s attention when he’s counting (what seems to be) the blue pansies. They stand in front of the glass door and pat their hands around, as if they just finished some gardening work. At first, Soonyoung assumes it’s one of the gardeners doing late work, until he realizes they are way too small to be an adult. 

Without hesitation, he runs over to the greenhouse, skipping over dividers between separate types of flowers. In his mind, there’s really only one person who could be that short around the palace grounds. And he’s been eager to meet him again for the past days.

“Jihoonie!”

Soonyoung jumps his way in front of the figure who is indeed his friend. On the other hand, the servant boy appears stunned, freezing in his spot. He’s wearing large, tattered gardening gloves that are clearly adult size, which he hides behind his back.

“S… Soonyoung, what are you doing here?” Jihoon asks with bewildered eyes.

“I missed you!” 

Soonyoung reaches out his arms to give Jihoon perhaps the biggest hug yet. As much as he’s shocked (and rather worried) that the prince has discovered him at the greenhouse, the warm hug and the words bring comfort to Jihoon. He’d also like to return the hug but his gloves are dirty and probably don’t feel nice to be patted by.

“I missed you too,” Jihoon admits in a lower volume when they break their embrace. Soonyoung takes a good look at his whole person, the dirty gloves, messy hair and work apron outfitted. “Why are you out here, Soonyoung?”

“Oh. Jeonghanie told me to go count the pansies.”

Jihoon tilts his head. “Why’s that?”

“Because.” Soonyoung’s fingers fiddle around in the meanwhile. He isn’t exactly the smiley, energetic prince that Jihoon was expecting to be met with. “It helps me think about other things when I cry.”

Ah. Jihoon takes off his gloves and sticks them in the front pocket of his apron, letting his bare hand hold the other’s. “You were crying?” he gently asks. He didn’t even realize that a boy like Soonyoung can and does actually cry out of sadness. Not just the stubborn child crying, but the raw emotion type. Something that serious must’ve happened in the time they hadn’t met.

“Father was… being scary at supper,” the prince mumbles, his words trailing off so that Jihoon can barely hear the rest. The one thing he does understand, though, is that Soonyoung is truly upset about what caused him to cry and that he’s still shaken up. Maybe it was a good thing that they crossed paths here at this time, especially since Soonyoung’s shoulders start trembling and he puts a hand to his eye. “Jihoonie, I don’t know what to do… I don’t think that’s Father anymore. He was never like this…” He sniffs his nose loudly and wipes with his sleeve. Jihoon offers him a handkerchief that he always carries around. 

“It’s okay,” whispers Jihoon, trying to offer the best reassurance he can. But his efforts aren’t enough for the fear driven into Soonyoung, built up from a feeling of losing his place in life over the past months.

“I wanna run away,” cries the boy, staring at Jihoon with his helpless, watery eyes. “I don’t wanna be here anymore… I just want a happy family…”

“Yeah…” Jihoon gulps. “I know, Soonyoung.”

Before Soonyoung actually sheds any tears, Jihoon holds the prince’s chubby face in his palms—he’s glad the gloves took in all the dirt and dust—and rubs his cheek with his thumb. It’s what his mother would do for him when he gets upset over something and has never failed to banish tears.

“I can take you away from this place.” Soonyoung’s mouth hangs slightly open, blinking confusedly at the suggestion. The other takes in a deep breath to continue. The subject is heavy and his throat stops him from speaking for a moment; it’s taken days for him to gather the courage to formulate his thoughts into words. “We can live together as a happy family, just the two of us. We can play games and music all day, if you want… I promise.”

It’s definitely not what Soonyoung was anticipating to hear. But the idea sounds so whimsical that it’s hard to believe Jihoon is seriously saying that he can do that for him. And if he really can grant that wish for him, Soonyoung might have no choice but to stick by his side for life, forever grateful to his savior. As childish as him wanting to run away from the palace and his parents is, the desire is genuine.

“You… really promise?” 

Jihoon nods. 

“I never break promises.”

Perhaps the boy is at a complete loss of words, the prince dives in for another hug, wrapping his arms around Jihoon’s waist and stuffing his face in his chest. Jihoon’s feet help him rebalance his stance after the impact. He sighs, somewhat in disbelief for getting himself involved in this. It’s worth it, though, considering everything and his first and only friend. He wants that ‘happy family’ future as much as Soonyoung does, that’s certain.

“Listen carefully.” Keeping his hands upon Soonyoung steadily, Jihoon stares him down with his most serious gaze yet. A sign to tell the boy that this is the real deal. Soonyoung swallows his spit and nods diligently. “I need you to stay in your room tomorrow after supper until I come get you. Wear warm clothes. Stay there, keep the door closed, and wait for me.”

“Yeah. I got it. Just need to wait in my room,” Soonyoung replies in order to show he’s been listening. His eyes light up suddenly. “Can Jeonghanie come with us?”

Jihoon merely licks his lips. “We’ll… have to see.”

That answer is apparently sufficient for the prince. He says his goodbye to Jihoon, repeats one more time what he needs to do tomorrow night, and gives him the gentlest peck on the cheek. Jihoon has no clue where the prince would learn to do that out of habit but, oh boy, it seriously gets his entire face burning up. Thank god for the darkness of the night otherwise Soonyoung wouldn’t stop pestering him about it.

His embarrassment over the platonic—he honestly has no clue what it was supposed to mean—peck disappears after Soonyoung leaves the scene, jogging back into the dimly illuminated palace. He looks down at his feet in his worn out shoes and the grass pressed under his weight. A breeze passes by him, rather cold considering the autumn weather, as he clasps his palms together, the way his mother taught him to when they would pray. 

“I’m sorry, Mama,” he whispers to the starless sky before he heads back inside.

The change in the palace’s atmosphere couldn’t be any more obvious to Soonyoung the following morning. First thing he noticed was the amount of servants walking around—barely anyone passed by him on his journey to the kitchen for breakfast. His attendant didn’t even show up which is why he’s dressed in casual, messy clothes. 

Only one maid is in the kitchen when he arrives, an older woman who shoots him a particular glance. Otherwise, she doesn’t pay much mind to him. He quietly grabs a leftover muffin—the servants haven’t made today’s pastry yet—and wanders. 

The palace is as cold as it’s ever been. Soonyoung can recall maybe five servants at most he’s seen throughout the day. Of course, none of his family members show their faces to him either. Not a moment goes by without Soonyoung getting that chill of loneliness up his spine.

It’s scary. There’s not a single gram left of what once was his joyful home, save for the structure of the palace itself. In the midst of everything, as Soonyoung cycles between sitting in his room and walking down halls, he only yearns for one thing.

He knew that Jihoon wouldn’t be there today but that thought didn’t stop him from checking the music room. Obviously, he couldn’t even get in because of the lock and his lack of the strange Lockpick powers. It was mostly just him wishing he could have someone to look at and talk to while the slow hours go by. 

By the time it’s (should be) supper and Soonyoung walks in with an empty stomach, there’s no one at the kitchen. No boiling pots, ingredients, utensils laid out on the counters to indicate anyone has been preparing meals. Soonyoung finds this troubling for his hungry self who also can’t cook. Although there never _aren’t_ any servants in the kitchen at this hour, the fact no longer surprises the boy, considering the lonesome day he’s already spent. 

Luckily for him, he discovers the pantry is wide open and full of all sorts of food he could have. The maids would get furious whenever the pantry door was left open so it’s odd to see the closet in its current state, but he supposes there just aren’t any maids around to get angry about it.

Soonyoung, being the kid he is, decides on a bag containing milk biscuits for his dinner, tucking it in an inner pocket of his coat. He feels he should return to his room soon and stay put there until Jihoon comes to see him. The biscuits should suffice in keeping him satisfied for the time being. He doesn’t want to venture out to the kitchen again later, anyways.

Soonyoung partially runs the way back to his room, the unsettling air of the palace growing even heavier as the sun sets. The safety of his room, always kept well-lit and warm, is probably the last room within the palace where he truly feels secure. That reminds him how he would’ve wanted to invite Jihoon in there. Sneaking past the guards would be a fun mission, to pretend like they were secret spies and breaking into the palace. 

The prince lays on his back atop his bed, one that’s too large for a child his size. He holds his hands on top of his stomach and stares at the ceiling, somewhat frowning. He keeps wondering when Jihoon will knock on his door so they can finally leave and be a happy family as they promised. Leaving his room behind will be a bit tough, admittedly, because there are lots of things he’s attached to that he can’t physically bring with him. The toy figures of knights and dragons are some of his favorites, as is an animal plush. He keeps forgetting its name—Jeonghan bought it for him from the city—but it’s cute, like a big, striped cat.

It must be at least an hour that Soonyoung spends laying on his bed, not sleeping yet not entirely awake either, drowning in his thoughts. They’ve become the loudest things he can hear ever since morning and the lack of brisk footsteps, soft chattering. A part of him wants to leave his room and search for Jihoon because he barely has the patience to wait another hour or god knows how long. But he recalls Jihoon stressing the importance of staying until it’s time and he doesn’t plan on going against his word.

Someone knocks on his door while the boy is reading a storybook to pass the time. _Finally,_ he thinks as he rushes to the door, expecting to greet Jihoon there. Unfortunately for him, the person at the door is much taller than any child out there. Because he’s busy gawking at the person, an older man with a mustache and scar on his face, he doesn’t quite notice the sword dripping in blood in his hand.

“Um…” Soonyoung manages to say, his voice shaky. There’s absolutely nothing about the man that seems remotely friendly. His face is blank but his gaze is intense, glaring down at the prince, regarding him with hatred. “W… Who are you?”

The man seems to have no care for Soonyoung’s young age, eyeing him in a way that reminds the boy of the way his mother treated servants at the palace. He lifts his arm with the sword, a massive weapon compared to the toy swords the boys played with. Soonyoung’s instincts kick in and he takes a step back, but the man prevents him from moving any further by pointing the sword’s tip to his neck. The blood, fresh, drips from the sharp end.

“You’re coming with me,” the man’s voice, low and rough, spits out. Soonyoung fights back the tears that he feels building up. He obviously can’t retaliate, not with the sword being so close to slicing him. Where is Jihoon? There can’t possibly be anything good that comes out of doing as the man says; he’s not a valiant knight here to escort him to safety. Soonyoung’s arms are glued tight to his body and his shoulders are taut. He’s too scared to follow the man but he knows he has no other choice.

With a sudden cry, the man crouches over. In order to clutch his stomach, he drops the sword in his hand, sending a sharp clanging noise to the terrified boy’s ears. Soonyoung backs away as the man falls to the floor and a pool of blood spreads underneath him. 

More importantly, when the man falls over, he reveals that there’s a boy standing behind, looking somewhat distressed and with a bloody dagger in hand.

“Jihoonie…!” exclaims Soonyoung, beyond glad to see him there. 

Jihoon wastes no time. “We have to run.” Hastily, he grabs the prince’s hand and begins running down the hall to the staircase. 

Soonyoung is partially dragged along, not expecting Jihoon to burst into a full sprint. “W… What’s happening?” And why did this have to happen the day they were supposed to leave on their own terms? Or, Soonyoung gradually realizes, Jihoon knew about this all along?

“We need to go,” Jihoon pants out while running, making sharp turns at corners. He seems to know exactly where he’s going and has the whole route mapped out in his mind. “They want to kill you!”

The boy’s heart drops at the news. “But… why?” is all he can say to that. “I—I haven’t done anything wrong!” His voice cracks near the end, a telling sign that he’s close to bawling out.

Soonyoung doesn’t see it, but Jihoon is making a pained expression as he runs. “I know, Soonyoung. I know.”

The first time Soonyoung hears the commotion is when they reach the ground floor. He sees some of it too, all in the form of knocked over furniture and fallen soldiers lying about. If he thought the palace was scary this morning, then right now he’s nearly petrified. The only thing keeping him on his feet and moving is the tight grip of Jihoon’s smaller hand.

They take the back door of the building, the one that servants often take in order to access the gardens. What should be a dark, empty area around the front of the palace is instead brightly illuminated with flames. There’s a moving crowd split into what looks like servants, civilians and the royal guards, fighting for their lives. Soonyoung never would’ve thought that the people and soldiers would swing their swords at each other. Aren’t they supposed to go into battle side-by-side, as part of the same land and kingdom?

“Over there! That’s the prince!” someone shouts from a nearby group of people, all with swords in hand. One man breaks away from the group and begins chasing the boys. Jihoon flicks his head to the side to glance at the man. With a deep breath, he sprints even faster than before. He holds Soonyoung’s hand so tightly that it even hurts, but the prince doesn’t mind at all.

Jihoon runs into the greenhouse, letting Soonyoung run beside him rather than behind once they’re under the glass roof. Evidently, it’s difficult for young children to outrun a physically fit man. Halfway into the greenhouse, the man enters the structure, his heavier footsteps alerting the boys. 

Nonetheless, they continue running. Soonyoung finds it strange that they’re in the greenhouse, the place he thought only has one means of getting in and out. Jihoon couldn’t be leading him into a trap, could he? _Of course not,_ he tells himself. From what he can tell, Jihoon has saved him from peril back at his room. Soonyoung wants to put all of his trust into him.

At the opposite end of the greenhouse, Jihoon stops in front of a stack of supplies and tools. He pushes them aside hastily, knowing the man will reach them any second, and pulls away a final plank of wood that reveals a hole in the glass. The hole reveals a tunnel carved into the thick bushes outside and at this point, Jihoon looks to Soonyoung with urgency. 

“Soonyoung, go through here. Don’t stop until you get out of the bushes!” Jihoon tells him, pulling his arm towards the tunnel, wanting him to dive in that very second. Although Soonyoung tries to get in at first, the large man who approaches him causes him to freeze in his path. Jihoon stands in front of the tunnel and Soonyoung protectively, facing the man boldly.

Watching Jihoon position himself in a particular manner, holding the dagger steady creates hesitation in Soonyoung. “But…!” There’s no way Jihoon could do anything about a man of that size, Soonyoung is well aware. He can’t possibly leave without him.

In an attempt to stop the prince, his main target, from escaping, he shouts and raises his sword, swinging it down in Soonyoung’s direction. Jihoon’s reflexes act quick, him raising the dagger’s blade to hopefully block the sword, but the strength and weight is too overwhelming. His arms tremble before giving away, letting gravity pull in the sword. Jihoon does his best to step away from the blade’s range, and he almost manages to fully dodge it.

“J… Jihoonie?” Soonyoung stammers, staring wide-eyed at the back of the boy standing in front of him. “What just happened?” he asks shakily, referring to how it looks like Jihoon is clutching his head or face, though he can’t tell much from his angle.

“Run, Soonyoung!” Jihoon yells, refusing to turn away from the man. “I’ll catch up to you, so go!”

Soonyoung’s heart is racing. He just knows something isn’t right. As much as he wishes he could help, he ultimately decides that he needs to believe in Jihoon and his plans. After a second of delay, he crouches onto his knees and crawls into the tunnel quickly, constantly telling himself not to look back and simply move forward.

The man scoffs.

“I thought you were promising but clearly I was wrong. You’re gonna make your mother upset.” 

For some reason, he appears joyful at the boy bleeding from what used to be his right eye. Jihoon bites on his lower lip to try and alleviate the excruciating pain. He has to use all of his willpower simply to keep standing, considering his injury and the abrupt loss of half his vision. 

“Though I will admit, you’re a pretty tough kid.” Smirking, the man reaches out to grab Jihoon by the neck, lifting him into the air. His hands fall to his side, the dagger clattering on the floor. He gasps at the tight hold around his airway and his body struggles to move free, to not avail. “Most kids your age like the little prince would be rolling on the floor, crying like a baby. Truly impressive, Jihoon. But not impressive enough.”

Jihoon claws at the arm that’s hoisting him up into the air. His vision grows hazy by the second, his breathing becoming short and rapid. “He’s… nothing like… his parents…”

The man shakes then tilts his head patronizingly. “That’s where you’re wrong, son.” He holds his sword up; Jihoon’s eyes shift over and watch as it inches closer to him. “They _always_ grow up like that. It’s in their blood. And it’s time you learn your lesson for trusting their kind.”

The sword is now a mere shove away from maiming Jihoon even further. He might even die from being suffocated by the man’s grip, in fact, yet he’s strangely not that afraid of his potential demise. If Soonyoung is doing as he asked, then he should be able to run from the men searching for him. And that _would_ be enough for him to accept his fate, except it’s not. He refuses to end here.

“I… made… a promise,” he says through gritted teeth, taking time with each word and panting in between. The man doesn’t think much of him—he even chuckles at him—but what he doesn’t anticipate is Jihoon chomping down on his hand the hardest he can. The kid must have fangs or something because it _seriously_ hurts.

When the man yelps and his grip on Jihoon loosens, the boy takes the opportunity to kick him in the chest with his two feet. The force and element of surprise are enough to throw him down on his back, dropping both the sword and Jihoon.

Once he’s free, Jihoon regains his composure quickly so he can grab his dagger. His hand pats the ground, his half-vision and continuously dripping blood slowing the process of actually finding it. As soon as he does he leaps onto the man, sitting atop his torso to prevent him from moving. In a moment of determination and his inner, pent-up rage bursting, he shouts simultaneously with his hands raising the dagger into the air.

“Jihoonie!”

Soonyoung is waiting under one of the ginkgo trees for his friend’s return. His mind had been suggesting different outcomes to Jihoon and the scary man’s confrontation, all of which he blocked out with images of the colorful pansies. He rushes over to Jihoon, helping him up from being on all fours and gasping loudly.

“Your eye… Oh, no, we—we have to get you some help!” Soonyoung stammers. The sight of blood is never pleasant, especially when it’s dripping out of a fresh and painful wound. How is Jihoon staying mostly calm with that on his eye?

Surprisingly, Jihoon merely shakes his head and flicks off the blood from his dagger. “It’s fine… I have another one and it works perfectly fine.” When he looks up and meets with Soonyoung’s worried gaze, he sighs and tries to give him a smile. “Soonyoung, I’m really okay. It’ll heal.”

“You sure? I’m not a doctor or anything so I hope you are…”

Soonyoung grabs Jihoon’s hand, not minding the bloodstain transferring to his fingers. And it’s a good thing that he does, because soon after Jihoon starts collapsing from exhaustion. With his arms, the prince breaks his fall and leads him to the tree trunk he was sitting against. Jihoon thanks him quietly; Soonyoung takes a seat next to him, blinking at him in concern.

“Can you get my bag for me? I hid it under that bush there,” Jihoon explains, pointing to one of the bushes. Nodding, the other goes to the bush and finds the cloth bag after a bit of digging past leaves. He brings it back to Jihoon, who grins faintly. “I brought bandages just in case… It’s in there.”

“Oh, okay! I got it.” Carefully, Soonyoung scavenges through the bag’s contents for the bandages. Some coins, a vial of liquid, another sheathed dagger… Evidently, Jihoon was prepared for this event. Soonyoung still doesn’t understand why everything they’ve been through happened—the people fighting, burning the palace, the men with swords coming after them. Jihoon must know more than he does, though at this point he wants to forget it all. 

He takes out the roll of bandages once his hand grasps the soft material. Going along with Jihoon’s instructions, Soonyoung aids him in wrapping the bandage over his eye, going around his head and under his bangs. Some blood seeps through the bandage already, which Soonyoung brings attention to, but Jihoon assures him it’ll eventually stop.

They both agree to rest for a bit under the trees. From the looks of it, the men at the palace are busy burning the entire place down. Jihoon tells the other that he placed the plank at the hole in the wall and instead, left a different opening he made revealed for people to see. In case anyone comes by, they should get distracted by the fake one and search in the wrong direction. Soonyoung applauds him for his smart thinking while Jihoon insists that it wasn’t anything incredibly innovative.

“Jihoonie…” The one whose name is called has his eyes closed, though not asleep, making use of their break to regain his energy. Meanwhile, Soonyoung is letting him rest his head against his shoulder. He glances at him, asking, “What do we do now?”

Jihoon returns the glance and exhales deeply through his nose.

“We need to go on a journey, get far away from here… Then find a home, one that’s just for us.”

“Oh.” That sounds tough to Soonyoung. He certainly wouldn’t be able to go through all this if he were alone. He can only imagine what would’ve been his fate if he went along with the man at his room, or if he was the one standing in front of the next man. Finding a new home, Jihoon said? If that means Soonyoung gets to decide all the rules, then he’s all for it. But he is reminded of something else while on that subject. “What happened to Jeonghanie? He isn’t coming with us?”

Jihoon pauses. He debates on what to say to those questions, scrolling through the options that would keep Soonyoung unknowing. The hardest part is that he hates lying, but maybe it can be an exception if it’s a lie that protects someone.

“...No. He went with the adults. I’m sorry, Soonyoung,” Jihoon gently answers, wondering if deep down, Soonyoung knows the truth, too. Nothing on his neutral expression would indicate that. Either that, Soonyoung is a master at suppressing certain emotions. He can’t know for sure.

“Oh,” Soonyoung exclams with a sigh. “I really wanted him to come…”

Jihoon gnaws on his lower lip. He can’t even bring himself to look Soonyoung in the eye anymore, so he stays silent.

After Jihoon tells him he’s ready to head out and they get on their feet, he puts his hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder to ask him a question he’s been holding for a while.

“Soonyoung, are you scared?”

“Huh?” Soonyoung blinks his eyes innocently. “I mean, I would be. But I always feel happy around Jihoonie!” The boy beams brightly. “And now that I know you’re my knight in shining armor, I feel really safe, too!”

“...Really?” Jihoon is genuinely surprised. His question is more or less rhetorical—he can tell Soonyoung isn’t the type to fake his bubbly smiles.

“Yeah!” The smile fades away to some degree. “Is Jihoonie scared…?”

At first, Jihoon says nothing in regards to the question. He gazes into the other’s curious eyes and his bites on his lip; he becomes increasingly flustered. Having no clue how to express what he wants to say, he eventually gives up and stands close to Soonyoung.

“Can we… hold hands?”

Soonyoung, a bit surprised at first, nods like it’s a given. “‘Course we can!” A gesture he’s done plenty of times by now—he reaches for Jihoon’s hand and holds it in his own. “Let’s hold hands all the way through the journey!”

A smile creeps its way onto Jihoon’s face. They begin their long journey, starting with the forest they’ve already stepped foot in. With Soonyoung focused on the path ahead of themselves, he misses the tear that falls down Jihoon’s cheek and him wiping it with his sleeve.


	2. Chapter 2

The end of the Kwon family’s reign was pleasant news to the vast majority. The people of the now fallen kingdom celebrated the mighty rebellion that took matters into their own hands. Word of the tyrants’ fall spread rapidly throughout the continent. It was only evitable that the Kwons were destroyed and the people took over. Everyone was simply waiting for the right moment.

Perhaps because they were all preoccupied with the festivities and celebrations, the rebels didn’t care much about the youngest prince who slipped away from their grasp. They knew he wouldn’t get far by himself anyways, a child as small and unknowing as he was. Having the heads of the rest of the family was enough to satisfy them. For days, the people took time off their jobs and drowned in liquor they hadn’t tasted in decades.

Maybe that played into the boys’ luck. When they ventured out into the city and searched for ways they could travel, all the people were cheerful and relaxed for once. No one paid much attention to the two boys—runaways and young kids who lost their parents were nothing strange—and thankfully, no one really knew what Prince (well, former) Soonyoung looked like either. He’d only been to the city once a couple years back, after all. Some servants would’ve recognized him, but they were all at the palace.

Still, the journey was strenuous. Money wasn’t _that_ much of a problem since Jihoon had taken the initiative to steal some valuables from the palace to sell later on. But no one really took kids their age seriously and they were turned down by travelers with vehicles countless times, even if they offered money for a ride. 

They were at least able to stop by a pharmacy to buy supplies for Jihoon’s wound. He sported an actual eyepatch that could protect his wound better and remedies for the pain (they bought them to Soonyoung’s insistence, despite Jihoon repeatedly telling him it didn’t hurt).

Eventually, when they felt they had gathered enough things to keep them alive for the trip, they decided to sneak onto a cargo ship after, again, sneaking onto a merchant’s cart all the way to the nearest port. Neither of them knew where the ship was headed but as long as it took them away from the land, they were happy with it.

The ship took them to a separate continent a couple days away from their original home. This was also when Soonyoung first figured out he gets seasick easily. It was a hassle to keep hidden from the men handling the ship while one of them was constantly on the verge of vomiting. Jihoon lent his lap to Soonyoung’s head and they sat like that for hours, counting the stars when it was night. Neither of them had seen so many lights in the night sky before.

The hardest part was after they got off the ship. They had no map or anything that could remotely assist them in, as they promised, finding a new home. What were a pair of ten year olds supposed to do, anyways? They ended up wandering for a while, having briefly heard about a big city beyond the port they landed in. 

The journey there was absolutely draining on foot; they had to get crafty for hunting and sleeping in the forest surrounding the thin path. Jihoon panicked when Soonyoung got sick after eating some bush berries, but luckily he remembered an herbal remedy his mother taught him to make. He had to improvise since some ingredients weren’t in the forest. When Jihoon told him to gulp the whole thing down and Soonyoung did, he vomited his entire stomach’s contents out, including the berries. Though he wasn’t sure if that’s what the remedy was intended to do, Jihoon supposed it worked the way he needed it to.

The boys were reaching their limits by the time they finally reached the rumored city, even bigger and busier than the one they came from. They looked horrendous with their tattered clothing, disheveled hair and dirty, unbathed selves, and they were blessed by a kind old man who noticed them and offered to take them in.

The old man ran a tea shop in the heart of the city. A small, conservative shop that had plenty of customers on a daily basis. He lived in the floors above the shop and had an unused guest room that he let the boys share. The two were forever grateful for the old man, letting them bathe and eat and sleep everyday at his place. They figured at the very least, they could help him with running the shop while they stayed with him. 

Life was good, stable. The Kwon family wasn’t anything of importance to the people in this larger continent—they learned it was at least twice the size of their homeplace—and so no one ever recognized neither Soonyoung nor Jihoon. They peacefully lived alongside the old man for years until he eventually passed from old age. His last words told them he was leaving the store completely in their hands, and they told him with teary eyes that they’d protect it with their lives.

It’s been almost ten years since they escaped the palace, driven by their shared promise of a new home and happy family. Looking at their current life, they would both agree that they’re finally what they’ve always wanted to be. In a new home, just the two of them, forever away from the nightmares of their childhood.

Sometimes, Jihoon thinks about his mother that he left behind, wondering if she’s disappointed in him or forgotten about him completely. When he thinks about her, he likes to go sit on the roof and stare at the night sky for hours, listening to the hustle and bustle of the sleepless city. Soonyoung would follow suit, bringing a large blanket for them to share. With his arm over Jihoon’s shoulders, they’ve talked, cried, kissed so many times on the rooftop, making sure to hold hands the entire time. Soonyoung consistently tells him that he’s only here thanks to Jihoonie, to which Jihoon always replies with a scoff and a shy look.

“Hey.”

Saturday afternoon has never not been a busy time for the tea shop. Lots of older customers enjoy sitting in the building, drinking freshly brewed tea and chattering about old people drama. While Soonyoung is working behind the counter, organizing tea leaves in their containers, he greets Jihoon walking in from the door propped open. In his hands is a wooden crate.

“Imports from the south?” Soonyoung asks. Jihoon huffs and places the crate down with a couple others stacked in the back.

“Yup,” says Jihoon, brushing his palms of the dust and tiny wooden scraps from the crate. He approaches the counter, leaning over it and staring at Soonyoung with a certain expression.

Soonyoung is concerned. “What? Do I look weird?”

“Yeah.” As Soonyoung gasps exaggeratedly, Jihoon snickers. “I’m kidding. Just thought you look cool when you’re working hard.”

“Oh,” breathes Soonyoung, his hands stopping subconsciously at the unexpected compliment. Jihoon doesn’t usually just say things like that out of the blue, although he definitely is blunt. The male smiles. “Well, the eyepatch makes you look badass. More than you already are, I mean.”

“Oh, yeah?” the other hums with a half-smirk, touching the eyepatch approvingly. It’s made of black leather, one that he recently bought from a shady merchant at the marketplace. The original price was kinda high, so Jihoon engaged in a battle of wits with the guy to purchase it for less. “It’s neat but I might switch back to the old bandage type from time to time. It’s got a special place in my heart.”

“Nerd,” Soonyoung whispers. As though asking _what did you just say?_ Jihoon raises his eyebrows and tries to flick the other’s forehead. He’d do that often when they became teenagers and learned the fun in being a little mean. Now that Soonyoung has completely outgrown him, however, it’s not as easy to do as it was in the past. “Hey, hey! I’m actually trying to work here,” exclaims Soonyoung with a gleeful laugh that contradicts his devotion to the job. He grabs onto Jihoon’s arms, stopping him from flailing the limbs around too much. 

“Fine, fine.” Jihoon had his fair share of fun for the day; he chuckles and gives Soonyoung’s arm a hearty pat. “Brew me some jasmine, will you?”

Soonyoung does a salute. “On it, boss.”

After rolling his eyes, Jihoon disappears into the back room of the shop to unload the goods in the crates. Soonyoung continues to man the counter, greeting a couple regulars and taking their orders with a million dollar smile. He’s become the favorite amongst local grandmas, in fact, who all gush _oh you’re such a nice boy and so handsome as well I wish my grandson was just like you_ while Jihoon stands in the back, yawning as loud as he can.

Living in this cozy building with the one person he’s always trusted makes him totally forget his life in the palace, even the few good times he remembers having. The only thing that guides his mind back to when he was Prince Soonyoung is his memory of Jeonghan. Only a year or so after their escape did Soonyoung fully understand why Jeonghan couldn’t come with them. He misses him greatly, regrets that he couldn’t have saved him from his demise or anything. But—and this is something that Jihoon worries about occasionally—he’s never blamed Jihoon for failing to rescue him. It isn’t fair that Jeonghan paid the price for his parents’ sins, but he knew he had to simply let it go and move on. 

Later in the afternoon, just an hour or so before sunset, the store takes a short break before reopening in the evening. Customers almost exclusively visit at night for the purpose of drinking tea with friends they bring along. Things in the shop get incredibly busy yet lively as well, and the two have never felt it was a bother to run the shop in the late hours. It warms them to know the people are having a great time, as much as the brewed tea warms their whole body.

Jihoon takes a seat at one of the tables and reads through a book borrowed from the library while Soonyoung prepares teapots, cups, and others for the night. Searching for extra cups, he heads into their back storage, careful so as to not accidentally break and drop anything. Porcelain cups aren’t the cheapest things out there, especially the ones made in decorative sets. 

Suddenly, Jihoon flicks his head up from his book. There’s a strange noise he can faintly hear from the near distance. Over the course of the next couple of seconds, the noise grows louder, and he realizes that they’re the screams of men and women. 

Rising from his seat, he ventures to the doorway to see what exactly is going on. There’s men shouting, a large crowd of footsteps running, building walls and doors being destroyed. 

Without warning, a soldier wearing an unfamiliar insignia rushes towards the shop swinging a sword. He aims right for Jihoon, who hurriedly backs away and yells, “Soonyoung!”

Soonyoung instantly emerges from the back to grab their own sword from behind the counter. He makes a jump over the counter and runs to the others, blocking the soldier’s blade. Gritting his teeth, he uses his strength to push the soldier away and slice him across the chest. The man falls with a loud groan; Soonyoung watches, panting lightly, spreading an arm out in front of Jihoon. 

“Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?” Soonyoung puts his hand on Jihoon’s shoulder, who’s still a bit shaken from the sudden attack. He shakes his head.

“I’m fine, but—but look!” 

Jihoon points out the entrance. The two of them observe the people in the streets running for their lives, enemy soldiers chasing and burning down buildings. Friendly soldiers holler for all civilians to evacuate to the ships and for capable men to help them stop the enemy soldiers. Jihoon and Soonyoung look at each other with urgency. Soonyoung in particular grips tightly on Jihoon’s shoulder.

“Soonyoung, we need to go,” Jihoon says breathlessly, wanting to get the hell out of there already. The dying soldier on the floor of their shop is more than enough for him to dash out the building and to the ships. But Soonyoung doesn’t budge from his spot, only holding his sword up and gazing outside. “Soonyoung? Did you hear me?”

“You go ahead and get on the ship.” Soonyoung’s gaze is serious—one of the only times he’s ever looked at the other with those eyes. “I’ll stay and help defend.”

Unable to find the proper words at first, Jihoon stammers. He tugs on Soonyoung’s sleeve and looks upset with his eyebrows furrowed, pissed even. “I am not leaving until you get on that ship with me.”

Soonyoung doesn’t move a muscle, merely shaking his head. “This is my home, Jihoon. And we told him we’d protect this place.”

 _No._ Jihoon was so close to losing him once, he can’t possibly let him do something so dangerous. He pulls on the taller’s arm quite forcefully, trying to convince him but to no avail. “Then let me join you! If you’re gonna fight here… if you might die here, then let’s do it together! Please,” he begs, raising his volume. From the way his eye glitters and his lips quiver, he’s evidently on the verge of tears. He simply can’t bear to be apart from Soonyoung in a situation like this.

“Jihoon, listen to me.” Soonyoung shifts his hand from the other’s shoulder to his face, caressing his cheek with the most care. “Remember how we said we’ll live as a happy family? We finally, finally have that here and I’m not going to let it go so easily.”

Jihoon’s breathing becomes quicker and he scrunches his nose as he gazes up to Soonyoung. “But…” he whispers, voice cracking.

“You are my everything, Jihoon. I want to treasure what we have until the day I die, whether it be today or thirty years later.” Despite everything, Soonyoung smiles widely. It’s almost childlike, reminiscent of the times they played together in the music room. “You saved my life. Now it’s my turn to save yours.”

“Soonyoung…” Jihoon whimpers, the name breaking away into gasps as he begins sobbing. Softly, Soonyoung shushes him so their faces can inch towards one another and press their lips together. A long, sultry kiss that Jihoon gets on his toes to lean into as much as he can, but not too long for the immediate dangers outside the shop.

When their lips break away, eyes lidded from when they were savoring the touch, Soonyoung smiles once again. As much as he still wishes to stay and fight alongside him, Soonyoung’s resolve is enough to persuade him. There’s no reason for him to risk his life for this, he thinks as he blinks solemnly at the young man, except, of course, his own willpower. The freedom that he gets to have, to take matters into his own hands, and to finally be that brave hero he’s always aspired to be.

“Promise you’ll come to me later.” Soonyoung can barely make out the words, but he nods anyways. _Go,_ he whispers, and Jihoon quietly turns away to run out the back door. With a deep sigh, Soonyoung faces the doorway, sword in hand, and he prepares to step onto the streets and do what he must for his beloved. 

Jihoon is one of the few who remain wide awake.

The ship had taken civilians, mostly women, children and the elderly to a nearby island for refuge. While on the ship, Jihoon asked the man gathering the folks what exactly was going on. A kingdom from the opposite of the continent that they’ve been at war with abruptly attacked the city with their men. The attack was unanticipated and caught them off-guard, otherwise they would have evacuated the people sooner. 

One more question he asks is which side was likely to win the battle at the city. The man rubbed his beard, said that’s a tough one and couldn’t give Jihoon a precise answer. He thanks the man, the growing dread manifesting in his facial features. 

He’s waited hours, sitting against a palm tree on the shore and hugging his knees closely. One of the ships had returned to the city, in case they needed to transport the rest that remained. Majority of the evacuated people have fallen asleep as it’s probably near midnight, exhausted from fleeing the streets. Others like Jihoon stay awake, anxious for their loved ones fighting at the city.

Jihoon drowsily, blankly stares at the ocean in front of him. The sounds and movements of the waves are hypnotizing and reminds him of lullabies, yet his consciousness refuses to fall asleep. It’s difficult to ignore all the thoughts and assumptions he has of the soldiers and their lack of arrival to the island. Did they lose, get captured, perish at the hands of the enemy… The constant battle between his heart and mind filling in the blanks keeps him awake.

 _Oh, Soonyoung…_ He sniffs his nose, stares at the water and its reflection of the moon and the stars. Him praying to see a ship return to the shore and watching the lights sparkle in the waves bring him back to ten years ago and their fateful encounter. 

Though Soonyoung had told him plenty of times that he would never be alive if it weren’t for Jihoon, he feels the same about the former prince. In a sense, Jihoon believes he was saved from a life of violence and deceit. No offense to his mother, but he was rather miserable when put in a position of no friends, no school, just reading and endless training. Soonyoung, too, is Jihoon’s everything—without knowing they’re going to continue their lives side by side, he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to get anywhere. 

Another hour passes. Jihoon’s eyelids grow heavy, his body becoming fatigued and in need of rest. The waves sound stronger as they pass midnight, luring the young man to finally close his eye and sleep. But as soon as he does, he hears footsteps in the sand, more than just one pair of feet. Faint yelling of a man in the distance is answered with men on the shore calling back. Jihoon’s body reacts almost instantaneously; he pushes himself off the sand and loses his breath at the sight of a ship approaching the island. 

Many others have awoken from the voices and a murmur in the crowd is created. People begin to swarm around the edge of the water, watching the ship sail towards them and a couple men waving their arms to them. Jihoon’s legs don't quite bring him to the crowd yet, instead opting to anxiously watch from his original spot. 

_They’re back,_ he thinks in disbelief, watching as the crowd makes way for soldiers, many of them injured and in bandages, step off of the ship. Unlike a majority of the people, he isn’t relieved yet—there’s always the chance that Soonyoung isn’t on the ship because he didn’t make it.

Jihoon starts running to the crowd, pushing and weaving his way between all the people crying and hugging their loved ones, searching for a certain silver-haired one. Constantly lifting and shifting his neck around to see past the figures in his way, he tries looking at every angle for him. When he grows desperate, shown in his distressed face, he finally spots the familiar side profile being helped off the ship by a soldier in tattered armor. 

“ _Soonyoung!_ ” Jihoon shouts, a voice that Soonyoung instantly recognizes and causes him to turn his head in his direction. Everything seems like a blur as Jihoon dashes into him and lands in a wide hug, tightly embracing the taller’s torso with all his might. He feels Soonyoung returning the embrace with his toned arm, rubbing his back and mumbling a soft _hey._

Jihoon pulls his face away from Soonyoung’s chest, gazing at him with a teary eye and quivering lips. His hair is disheveled, which is pretty reasonable, and a couple cuts on his face are bright red. From the way his eyebrows droop and he smiles gently, Soonyoung appears oddly apologetic, which Jihoon had not been expecting. His vision shifts over to Soonyoung’s left side and sees something else that he had not been expecting, one that snatches Jihoon’s words straight from his mouth. 

“Your…” Jihoon’s eye does double, triple takes from Soonyoung’s sheepish, helpless look to his left arm, wrapped bandages replacing what would’ve been his forearm. Speechless, his hands subconsciously grip on Soonyoung’s shirt, just gawking in utter astonishment. Neither does Soonyoung say much about it, having accepted it already—he was just fearing what Jihoon’s reaction to it would be.

Reaching out his hand, Soonyoung situates his palm along Jihoon’s cheek, not wanting him to be sorrowful about his loss. He stares at Jihoon in a loving manner, a tender smile upon his lips. “An eye for an arm, right? Isn’t that what they say?” he tells him with a lighthearted disposition.

Jihoon can only manage to scoff after a long pause. They lean closely and press their lips together, Soonyoung pulling Jihoon’s face towards him and Jihoon shutting his eye, letting a teardrop fall.

Now that the soldiers have evacuated the city as well—the enemy force apparently retreated after losing too many men—they tell the civilians to rest for the night, that they’ll return home by morning. Jihoon escorts Soonyoung to his post under the palm trees, urging him to get the rest that he deserves.

“You have been stressing me out for over a decade, Kwon Soonyoung,” Jihoon tells the other once he’s wiped his tears away and has relaxed enough to use his sarcastic voice. They hold hands, a ritual for their bond, as they walk among the bed of sand. 

“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” retaliates Soonyoung, taking in a deep breath, “I’d much prefer the name Lee Soonyoung.”

Jihoon halts in his tracks. He tilts his head at Soonyoung, eye squinting slightly, his mind likely too exhausted to process the other’s words. “What do you mean?”

Soonyoung appears equally confused. “What do you mean, what do I mean?” he wonders as though his dialogue is a given, that Jihoon should be sharp enough to know. “Our promise, remember? Happy family?”

When they intertwine their fingers and realization hits him, Jihoon covers his mouth, wide-eyed at the proud, beaming, and significantly flustered Soonyoung. “Oh, my god…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading !!


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